Thirty consecutive patients with a displaced Colles fracture were
treated with closed reduction and percutaneous fixation with two Kirschner
wires. There were no serious complications. Two of the thirty patients had
a minor loss of reduction that did not compromise function. One of the
twenty-eight patients who were available for one-year follow-up had a
moderate loss of flexion and extension. No patient had a significant loss
of rotation of the forearm. The study showed that additional fixation
improves both the anatomical and the functional results after a Colles
fracture. I recommend the use of percutaneous Kirschner-wire fixation if
the articular surface of the radius is not comminuted into more than two
fragments.